One by one, heads in the office turned in my direction as David Bowie’s unmistakable voice issued from the small black device in my hand. If at first I detected annoyance, it quickly shifted to recognition and then confusion.
TechRadar shares our New York office space with colleagues from assorted other tech websites, but while everyone knew Bowie’s 1969 classic Space Oddity, but no one could identify the Bluetooth speaker. They asked if it was a Beats device. I told them no, but I understood the confusion.
My tiny Jawbone Jambox was from the early days of stereo Bluetooth speakers, and a forerunner of many of today’s best Bluetooth speakers – a metal and rubber-encased dual tweeter device capable of driving surprisingly loud, clear, and bass-filled sound for its size.
A design ahead of its time
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While I waited, I marveled once again at the design – certainly something worthy of Beats or even Apple (the Jawbone sold for a time through the Apple store). The metal, wrap-around grille has a sort of topographical geometric pattern design, and the base and bottom are rubber.
It’s a small gadget – roughly one-inch by six inches by two inches tall – with a minimum of ports: one for charging and the other a 3.5mm headphone jack for a wired audio input. There’s the power/pair button, and then on top the rubber volume buttons, and one for calls and status.
I recall that it shipped with cables and a rather unusual carrying case that featured a hard, yet foldable, frame; sadly those have been lost to the sands of time (or my disorganized basement).
Pump up the volume
With charging done, I pushed the power button up and held it until the Jambox entered Bluetooth pairing mode. Like almost every other activity, Jambox loudly announced that it was entering pairing mode, and when I paired it with my iPhone 17 Pro Max, there was a clarion call of success.
A moment later, I was playing Space Oddity off of YouTube. As I pushed the speakers and listened to Bowie sing “This is Ground Control to Major Tom…” I took note of the still-impressive audio quality. Even now, the highs and mids are sharp, and the bass somehow vibrated the small but dense box in my hand. I even noticed a couple of my coworkers smiling as they listened. But the sound was carrying well beyond our small warren, and so I cut Bowie off.
IKEA sparks a memory
I can tell you why I pulled Jawbone’s Jambox out of mothballs. Last week at CES, I fell for IKEA’s dirt-cheap ($10) Kallsup cube speakers. Rolling one of the plastic cubes over in my hands, I wondered why it seemed oddly familiar. Then I remembered the Jawbone Jambox.
Granted, while the Kallsup will cost you approximately what you pay for a large Starbucks Iced Latte, the Jambox was $199, which back then was considered pretty pricey in the relatively new world of portable stereo speakers.
When I got the Jambox as a gift in early 2012, it moved into my office and serenaded me with music (and some Howard Stern) virtually every workday. Battery life was decent, usually lasting 10-12 hours per charge. It could also double as a speakerphone, but I can’t remember ever using it in that way.
The Jambox was so popular it spawned a $299 Big Jambox that I reviewed (and loved) and a Jambox Mini. Jawbone was also a hot commodity, producing the Jawbone Bluetooth headset that everyone seemed to have, and even a very early wearable healthband called the Jawbone Up. I had that too, and liked it enough to buy a matching band for my wife.
Those devices now live in a box in my basement, and Jawbone went out of business in 2017. All that’s left of its glory days, I guess, is this Jambox. It’s still an awesome product, and a reminder of a bygone era when stereo Bluetooth speakers were young and special.
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lance.ulanoff@futurenet.com (Lance Ulanoff)
